New Chelsea signing Liam Delap made his debut for the club after coming off the bench in the Club World Cup win over LAFC.
The Englishman will have been under pressure to deliver in his first appearance after replacing Nicolas Jackson, whose brilliant work set up Pedro Neto for the opening goal.
Delap responded in kind, putting in a perfect cross for Enzo Fernandez to give them breathing space against their MLS opposition.
Fernandez praised Delap after the game, with him excited about the partnership they could be about to form together at Stamford Bridge.
Micah Richards changed his mind on Liam Delap during Chelsea debut
There was some criticism of Delap’s debut too, with him taking a few minutes to get up to pace. The step up from Ipswich Town to Chelsea is clear to see.
Micah Richards also noted this, however told ‘The Rest is Football’ that he grew into the game, and was really impressed with his movement up front.
He said: “I put a message in the group to say Delap’s struggling a bit, and two minutes later he got the assist! I thought Jackson was playing well, he’s obviously got to up his game. I’ve always been a big fan of Jackson, I think he can score more goals obviously, but his whole link up play was very, very good.
“Obviously you want to see Delap come on and score and assist, but a couple of his early touches I thought it looked a bit fast out there for him, but he grew into the game. After about 5 or 10 minutes, he was going into pockets, getting the ball, and even when he went wide, the delivery on the cross was outstanding. I just thought ‘I can see these combinations working really well next season.
“Impressive debut from Delap. Did you see his movement? There was a chance when he first came on. He went one way, didn’t get the ball, and then he curved his run, and I thought ‘oh yes, I like that’.”
Delap tipped to start vs Flamengo
The battle for top of their group at the Club World Cup is going to be between Chelsea and Flamengo, after both won 2-0 in their opening fixtures.
The two sides are set to meet on Friday night, with the Blues’ boss hinting that he is set to make changes to his starting XI to favour rotation where he can.
Maresca claimed Delap could start after having to sit on the bench to start his first game for the club, with the Englishman no doubt keen to get on the scoresheet after providing an assist.
